Page 6 - TunnelTalk Annual Review 2012

Tunnels lead the way
in world top-100 projects
Table 1. global projects with significant tunnelling elements in the Top-100
Project
Region
Estimated cost
Bioceanico Aconcagua Corridor
Argentina-Chile
US$3 billion
Fehmarnbelt Crossing (sea link)
Denmark-Germany
US$6.9 billion
California high speed rail
USA
US$68 billion
East Side Access railway
USA
US$8.2 billion
Bosphorous Tunnel (sea link)
Turkey
US$1.1 billion
São Paolo Metro line 4
Brazil
TBC
Kuwait Metro
Kuwait
US$10 billion
Miami Port Tunnel (sea link)
USA
US$0.6 billion
São Paolo Ring Road
Brazil
TBC
Singapore Deep Tunnel Sewerage System
Singapore
US$2.6 billion
Thames Tideway
UK
US$6.25 billion
TunnelTalk reporting
More than one in ten global infrastructure projects included in a newly released list of the top-100, involved major tunnelling. The list, produced in a report by international consultancy KPMG and released at the launch event of the World Cities Summit in Singapore in July 2012, judged the top 100 projects on scale, feasibility, complexity, innovation and impact on society.
In total, 11 of the 100 projects, selected by an independent panel of judges and spanning all sectors of construction and project finance, involve a large element of tunnelling. Three projects in North America and three in South America made it onto the prestigious list. Projects were nominated for inclusion in one of 10 categories, with 10 projects making it to the final list in each category.
Tunnelling projects were strongly represented in the Urban Mobility section, accounting for six of the total of 10 in the category, and three of the 10 finalists in the Global Connectivity section. The Thames Tideway project in London, which involves excavation of a 30km tunnel 70m under the River Thames, made it onto the list in the Water category, and the Singapore Deep Tunnel Sewerage project was included in the Recycling and Waste Management Section.
The proposed 19km immersed tube Fehmarnbelt Crossing between Denmark and Germany, appears in two of the report’s 10 categories, Global Connectivity and Urban Regeneration.
David O’Brien, leader of the KPMG Global Center of Excellence for Cities, said: “There is clear and ample evidence that the world is beginning to innovate and bring new solutions to respond to the simmering
challenges of urbanisation and environmental sustainability. City planners, developers, engineers, investors and policymakers are re-examining and re-inventing the way infrastructure is delivered.”
Other tunnelling projects that made the top-100 list include:
• The East Side Access railway project
in New York;
• California’s high speed rail project,
described by one judge as “a one in
100-year transformative event”;
• The Eurasia highway tunnel in Istanbul to link Kazlicesme and Goztepe with a 5.4km bored tunnel under the
Bosphorus;
• The Port of Miami highway tunnel in
Florida;
• The 52km long Aconcagua railway
tunnel project to link Chile and Argentina, considered by some of the judges to be a “game changer for South America” and “the region’s most important development in 100 years;”
• The Kuwait Metro;
• The São Paolo Metro Line 4 in Brazil; and • The São Paolo Ring Road through the
mountains around the city in Brazil.
Labelling the Top 100 as “triumphs of humanity”, O’Brien added: “These projects should provide inspiration to urban infrastructure participants that change is possible and achievable. The projects highlight a new vision for the future and represent a fundamental change in the way we interact with the urban environment.” n
TunnelTalk references
Fehmarnbælt Crossing
• Political backing to Germany-Denmark link – TunnelTalk, February 2011
• Cost comparison for Fehmarnbælt link options – TunnelTalk, November 2010
California High Speed Rail
• Governor signs California HSR funding bill - TunnelTalk, July 2012
• California HSR identifies qualified contractors - TunnelTalk, February 2012
Bioceanico Aconcagua Corridor
• Extreme tunnel planned for Andes rail link - TunnelTalk, November 2012
East Side Access
• Slurry TBMs ready to tackle New York ground - TunnelTalk, March 2011
• East Side Access optimization - TunnelTalk, October 2009
Miami Port Tunnel
• Miami Port Tunnel finally a project - TunnelTalk, October 2009
• Miami TBM assembled and ready to go - TunnelTalk, September 2011
São Paolo Ring Road
• São Paolo urban forest tunnels becoming a reality - TunnelTalk, June 2012
Thames Tideway
• Super sewer to revitalize River Thames - TunnelTalk, March 2009
Singapore Deep Tunnel Sewerage System
• Last TBM holes through on Singapore’s DTSS - TunnelTalk, March 2005
• The good, bad and mixed on the DTSS - TunnelTalk, April 2004
From left: 52km trans-Andean base tunnel route; Fehmarnbelt immersed tube sea link; 5.4km undersea Eurasia Tunnel alignment
6 TunnelTalk AnNnNUuAlL ReEVvIieEw 2012 www.TunnelTalk.com
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